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Internet Culture

Man cuts his books in half to make them ‘portable,’ spurs online debate

‘You are a serial killer.’

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Esther Bell

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Book lovers could argue about the merits of physical books versus e-readers for eternity, but one man shocked fellow bookworms when he revealed he cuts books in half to make them more “portable.”

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Avid readers were appalled at the news and immediately begun mocking him for his unorthodox methods.

Alex Christofi, senior editor at Oneworld Publications and self-proclaimed “book murderer,” tweeted, “Yesterday my colleague called me a ‘book murderer’ because I cut long books in half to make them more portable. Does anyone else do this? Is it just me?”

https://twitter.com/alex_christofi/status/1219564301029138432

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The replies were merciless. “My dude, invest in a nice e-reader. This is precisely what they’re for. Then you won’t have to go through life as HISTORY’S WORST MONSTER,” Twitter user @scalzi wrote in response.

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https://twitter.com/tressiemcphd/status/1219623579656118273

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Even Dictionary.com got involved, calling it both a “travesty” and “tragedy” and then proceeded to define both terms.

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Others just made fun of the idea, without taking a side. “I cut the book horizontally so first I read the top of all the pages then read the bottom,” Twitter user @KarlreMarks joked.

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https://twitter.com/rorschachisgay/status/1219658844701446148

Another quipped that they “do the same with really long DVDs.”

https://twitter.com/pauljholden/status/1219586277957345280

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But some applauded Christofi’s innovation. His method for reading on the go was dubbed “practical,” and one Twitter user reminded everyone “they’re just books.”

https://twitter.com/jessicabateman/status/1219588206926147584

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Some avid readers noted cutting books in half could be a game-changer. “This seemed like a bad idea until I looked at my bedside table where the Book of Dust has been sitting unread for 2 months because it’s too big to take to work and I don’t want to have to read a different book on the train,” Twitter user @callapilla wrote.

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Even though some book lovers are deeply offended by this, Christofi very well may be on to something.

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